The Elusive Perrier Bottle and other Drawing One Conundrums

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Written by Craig Stevens, Edited by Tavis Leaf Glover
on June 29, 2016

This article is for the video students who are participating in the Barnstone Studios drawing exercises. Some of the bottles can be hard to find, especially the small Perrier bottle which set the standard for small bottles. It's design...its internal geometry…all of the other bottles stood in awe of it's elegance. But alas, the perrier bottle is so elusive, that it only exists amongst the whispers of veteran Barnstone students (if you find one, please let us know). Perrier bottle or not, we do have some marvelously acceptable alternatives listed below.

To complete the assignments you basically need 3 bottles that, when placed next to one another, a yardstick/ruler/straightedge will lay on the corner of the 3 bottles at one time and have a good proportional relationship to one another. Most of them are beer bottles, but as Myron jokes in the drawing videos, he's not encouraging any unlawful consumption of alcohol to complete the assignment…for all you underage artists out there.

The Heineken 7oz Bottle

Let's start with the bottle which is usually not laying around the house. The Heineken "split" is the 7oz bottle (some people call them pony bottles, at least that's what they are called in PA). A "split" is a champagne bottle term and isn't commonly used with beer bottles. It actually confuses quite a few clerks when you ask, so tell them you are looking for the "7oz bottle" and you should be more successful. Quite a few stores carry them in six packs.

Other areas may have a similar 7oz bottle by another beer maker. Corona makes a 7oz bottle but it's taller than most but could work if you choose the correct other 2 bottles. You could also ask at a couple of local bars, they may serve them. Other students have used small bottles like a champagne (Korbel) bottle.

If you find a Heineken 7oz bottle, combine it with an Amstel Light beer bottle and find a standard wine bottle that works with them and you'll be set.

Examples of Different Bottle Combinations

There are several different bottles out there that will work fine for the drawing assignment. Below you will see four different variations. Follow the links to see what the bottles look like, so you can easily identify them in the store.

Here we have (from left to right) a Corona, Stella Artois, and Chimay Blue. The Stella and Chimay bottles are more complex because of the internal geometry used to design them. If you are up for a challenge, these bottles are perfectly fine to use. The point is to take advantage of the lessons learned from doing the assignment, instead of not participating because you haven't found the perfect bottles.

Certainly this collection of bottles should give you more confidence when hunting for the perfect bottles for your assignment. Please contact us if you have further questions and we will be happy to help. Happy designing!